Diamondbacks' Gabriel Moreno hoping to play in Game 1 vs. Dodgers: 'I'm ready'
LOS ANGELES — Gabriel Moreno continues to trend in a positive direction, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said on Friday, adding that Moreno will be the starting catcher for Game 1 of the division series, assuming nothing changes.
Moreno, the club’s prized young catcher, was struck on the top of the head on a backswing by the Milwaukee Brewers’ Brice Turang during the second inning of Wednesday’s wild-card series game. Moreno reported feeling dizziness and was removed from the game.
“He has not entered the concussion protocol,” Lovullo said Friday. “He has been tested and monitored over the past couple of days and continues to improve and show no symptoms whatsoever.”
Moreno has emerged as a key figure in the Diamondbacks’ lineup. The club was 57-37 in the regular season in games he started behind the plate, and Lovullo bumped him up into the No. 5 spot in the lineup for both games against the Brewers.
Speaking through interpreter Alex Arpiza, Moreno said he felt a little under the weather in the way of a slight temperature on Thursday but otherwise feels fine.
“I feel good,” he said. “I’m ready to play tomorrow.”
Moreno’s injury caused roughly a 4-minute delay as Lovullo and a member of the training staff visited with him to determine whether he should be removed from the game.
On his way off the field, Lovullo appeared to briefly engage angrily with some of the Brewers’ fans who were booing the lengthy stoppage in play. Lovullo said it was “not a great fan moment” for the Brewers’ faithful.
“There are certain tests, questions that the trainer needs to ask him,” Lovullo said, “and you can't rush that process. When a player is down on the field, it doesn't matter what team you're on, we're one. And it could be their player and we're one. I think the fans may have lost a little bit of that perspective.”
Roster talk
General Manager Mike Hazen said he expected the Diamondbacks will keep the same split of position players and pitchers — 14 and 12, respectively — that they had in the wild-card series, though perhaps with slightly different personnel.
“We’re talking about a position-player move and a pitching move that would involve a bullpen and bench or platoon scenarios that we might just — we’ve kind of had some conversations already. I’m sure we’ll finalize that tonight. There’s not going to be seismic changes to what we’ve been doing.”
Outfielder Jorge Barrosa, who spent the year in Triple-A Reno and has yet to make his major league debut, joined the team for the final day in Milwaukee and traveled with them to Los Angeles.
Among pitchers, left-hander Kyle Nelson, who was left off the wild-card roster, remains with the team and could be more of a viable option given the Dodgers’ stable of left-handed hitters, which includes Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy, James Outman, Jason Heyward and David Peralta.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: ‘I’m ready’: DBacks’ Moreno hoping to play in Game 1 vs. Dodgers
